Breakdown of Woraus machst du das Spielzeug? Ich mache es aus Papier.
ich
I
du
you (informal singular)
es
it
machen
to make, to do
aus
from / out of (made of)
das Spielzeug
the toy
das Papier
the paper
woraus
out of what
Questions & Answers about Woraus machst du das Spielzeug? Ich mache es aus Papier.
Why is it woraus instead of aus was?
In English, you ask "out of what". In German, when you ask a question using a preposition and an inanimate object (like a thing or material, not a person), you combine wo and the preposition. Because aus starts with a vowel, an r is added in the middle to make it easier to pronounce: wo + r + aus = woraus.
Why does the answer use the pronoun es?
es means "it" in this sentence and replaces das Spielzeug (the toy). Because Spielzeug is a neuter noun (indicated by das), you must use the neuter pronoun es when referring back to it.
Does Spielzeug have a literal translation?
Yes! It is a compound noun made of Spiel (play/game) and Zeug (stuff/gear). So das Spielzeug literally translates to "play stuff", which is a great way to remember the word for "toy".
What case is being used in the phrase aus Papier?
The preposition aus always forces the following noun into the dative case. However, because Papier is used here as a general material without an article ("paper" instead of "the paper"), you don't actually see a dative ending. If you wanted to say "out of the paper", it would be aus dem Papier.
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